Above Fear – the Dramatic Episodes in Honoré’s d’Urfé L’Astrée

Abstract

L’Astrée, a pastoral novel of Honoré d’Urfé abounds in dramatic episodes that shatter the bucolic idyll. The suicide scenes of Damon or Chriséide; the violent context of Placidie’s marriage show the protagonists in traumatic situations. However, they all keep their cool, preferring to act instead of lamenting. Thus Honoré d’Urfé shows readers how to survive dramatic situations. He wrote his novel for readers who had mostly survived the nightmare of religious wars, who were no strangers to dramatic choices, the imminence of death, and who realized that in a critical situation, It was not fear, but action and pragmatism that could save their lives. D’Urfé is an excellent teacher. In the pastoral novel, by confronting its heroes with dramatic choices, it shows readers what kinds of actions are rational and effective, and how life differs from literature.